This is the story of two sisters, both deeply in love with one another, but once they were bitter enemies. Their names are Germany and France. Today they live at peace with one another and are leaders of the European Union alliance, but as late as WWII, they were bitter enemies. Their animosity to one another can be traced as far back as Roman times but here we will stick to one specific incident, the 1870 Franco Prussian war.
Before the unification of Germany in 1871, one of the states was the Kingdom of Prussia, led by Otto von Bismark, the same person who was responsible for the unification of Germany. In 1870 a coalition of German states led by Prussia went to war with France and eventually defeated France. The end result was the creation of a unified Germany. In this war Paris and other areas of France were surrounded and were under siege by the coalition forces.
One such area was a fortress named Metz. The French Army of the Rhine was defeated by the Germans at the Battle of Gravelotte on 18th August 1870 and they retreated into the Metz fortress. The fortress was promptly surrounded by German forces. The French thought that they had enough food for about five months but because there were about 170,000 soldiers trapped in the fortress, the provisions only lasted for 41 days. They needed food.
to the military pharmacist, Julien François Jeannel, and he suggested the use of paper balloons to send messages out of the fortress. Actually ths was the end of his contribution to the system. On September 2nd, Jeannel proposed this method to Chief of Staff, Marshal Bazaine. He scoffed at the idea but enabled Jeannel to build a few balloons for initial testing. He had no confidence in the idea and considered it to be kids' toys.
These initial balloons became known as the "Pharmacists' balloons". From September 5th to 15th, the pharmacists launched 14 hydrogen-filled balloons carrying around 3000 very small letters. They called these letters "butterflies", maybe because the idea came from Doctor Papillon which means butterfly. These letters were constructed of tracing paper coated on both sides with varnish to make them waterproof. Only 7 of the first 14 balloons managed to carry messages to their destination. Today less than 20 letters are currently known. How many balloons were sent on which dates? No one really knows as there were days in which it rained heavily, so it would make little sense to send out a paper balloon.
Although Marshal Bazaine felt that these were toys, they reached their destination and so the senior commander of the Metz Fortress, General de Coffinières, decided to take it under his wing. He approached the Artillery and Engineering Application School to develop a new system and making it available to all, civilians and soldiers. A post office was opened and the mayor of Metz was informed of the official creation of the balloon post. The letters were to be written on "onion skin" paper, and measure only 10 cm x 5 cm. These balloons became known as The balloons of the School of Artillery and Engineering. I wonder why?
Ten balloons were launched by the Engineers between September 16th and October 3rd, each containing several thousands of the butterflies. Marshal Bazaine claimed that a number of the balloons had been captured by the Prussians and discontinued their use as of October 3rd. According to Yvery and Telliers specialized catalog, the total number of letters transported in this way is estimated at 150,000 but less than 125 are currently known.
On 20th October, the food provisions of the fortress ran out and I will not write here about what the French Army ate instead. 27th October, Bazaine was forced to surrender his entire army, simply because they were starving.
The letter above, was sent on the 9th balloon on 29th September 1870. It was sent to Abbeville, Gateway to the Bay of Somme.
Bibliography:
This is the story of two sisters, both deeply in love with one another, but once they were bitter enemies. Their names are Germany and France. Today they live at peace with one another and are leaders of the European Union alliance, but as late as WWII, they were bitter enemies. Their animosity to one another can be traced as far back as Roman times but here we will stick to one specific incident, the 1870 Franco Prussian war.
Before the unification of Germany in 1871, one of the states was the Kingdom of Prussia, led by Otto von Bismark, the same person who was responsible for the unification of Germany. In 1870 a coalition of German states led by Prussia went to war with France and eventually defeated France. The end result was the creation of a unified Germany. In this war Paris and other areas of France were surrounded and were under siege by the coalition forces.
One such area was a fortress named Metz. The French Army of the Rhine was defeated by the Germans at the Battle of Gravelotte on 18th August 1870 and they retreated into the Metz fortress. The fortress was promptly surrounded by German forces. The French thought that they had enough food for about five months but because there were about 170,000 soldiers trapped in the fortress, the provisions only lasted for 41 days. They needed food.
.jpg#/media/File:Beato,_Felice_A._-_Eine_von_Deutschen_besetzte_Festung_in_Metz_nach_der_Übergabe_durch_General_Bazaine_(Zeno_Fotografie).jpg)
One of the Metz forts under German occupation after the French surrender
By Beato, Felice A. - Image
Zeno.org, ID number 2000185254X, Public Domain, Link
So now we have a surrounded fortress with people inside who need to send messages out to whoever, loved ones or request for reinforcements or whatever. So they took out their iPhones and loaded the WhatsApp app and immediately tapped in messages. Oh wait, this is 1870. How do they get messages out? Some people did rely on smugglers to get messages in and out, but this was unreliable and of course unofficial and on the other hand, can you really trust a smuggler?
On September 1st, Major Doctor Papillon, medical assistant in the ambulance of the Guard, was talking
 |
| Julien François Jeannel |
These initial balloons became known as the "Pharmacists' balloons". From September 5th to 15th, the pharmacists launched 14 hydrogen-filled balloons carrying around 3000 very small letters. They called these letters "butterflies", maybe because the idea came from Doctor Papillon which means butterfly. These letters were constructed of tracing paper coated on both sides with varnish to make them waterproof. Only 7 of the first 14 balloons managed to carry messages to their destination. Today less than 20 letters are currently known. How many balloons were sent on which dates? No one really knows as there were days in which it rained heavily, so it would make little sense to send out a paper balloon.
Although Marshal Bazaine felt that these were toys, they reached their destination and so the senior commander of the Metz Fortress, General de Coffinières, decided to take it under his wing. He approached the Artillery and Engineering Application School to develop a new system and making it available to all, civilians and soldiers. A post office was opened and the mayor of Metz was informed of the official creation of the balloon post. The letters were to be written on "onion skin" paper, and measure only 10 cm x 5 cm. These balloons became known as The balloons of the School of Artillery and Engineering. I wonder why?
Ten balloons were launched by the Engineers between September 16th and October 3rd, each containing several thousands of the butterflies. Marshal Bazaine claimed that a number of the balloons had been captured by the Prussians and discontinued their use as of October 3rd. According to Yvery and Telliers specialized catalog, the total number of letters transported in this way is estimated at 150,000 but less than 125 are currently known.
On 20th October, the food provisions of the fortress ran out and I will not write here about what the French Army ate instead. 27th October, Bazaine was forced to surrender his entire army, simply because they were starving.
The letter above, was sent on the 9th balloon on 29th September 1870. It was sent to Abbeville, Gateway to the Bay of Somme.
Bibliography:
Very interesting article which gives the essential information on the subject. I learned things. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Mike
Deletegood story. thx
ReplyDeleteAn early version of drones :D
ReplyDeleteAs always, thank you for the interesting story!